Of Dragons and Jedi
by Sealiman Dawntracker
Summary: One of the last Jedi crashes on Berk, what will ensue?
1. Chapter 1: A Rough Landing

**Chapter 1: A Rough Landing**

"I know R6! We're coming in too hot!" As the light freighter's cockpit began to fill with smoke and a control panel exploded with sparks the lone Jedi began coughing and losing consciousness, the last thing that he thought before blacking out was "First a blind jump from the Empire, now I'm going down on some Force forsaken planet!"…

_On Berk_…As the teens landed Astrid looked up and her jaw dropped, everyone followed her gaze and saw a bright light in the sky getting larger and brighter with each passing moment! It was heading straight for the forest outside of the village!

Then with a large boom it impacted and sent shockwaves through the ground so powerful that everyone toppled over. Gobber got up and yelled "What was that!?" at which point all the teens were all mounted and flying over to the crash site.

"Hiccup!" yelled Stoick uselessly for his son was already out of earshot, then he and Gobber began to run to the impact site.

_Impact Crater_…"What is that?" asked Fishlegs, they were all speechless it was like nothing they had ever seen before.

"I don't know" said Hiccup, meteors weren't common but… this was no meteor, for one it was solid metal, too large to be meteor, and it was colored weird, all red and white striped.

"Maybe it's from Valhalla" suggested Astrid

"…Hiccup" Stoick finally caught up with the group breathing heavily, then whispered "What is that!"

To which Hiccup said "We don't know dad, we just don't know" everyone jumped as they saw movement through a large sheet of glass on the front of the…whatever it was, Toothless readied a plasma blast and Stoick started to draw his sword but Hiccup yelled out "Someone's trapped in there!" as a grimy, bloody hand showed through the glass almost pleading for help.

Gobber and Stoick both hit the glass with hook and sword. Very much surprised when it didn't break, a plasma blast from Toothless however did the job and blew a hole in it and out fell a man in brown and tan robes, leather boots, and who had his graying-brown hair in a ponytail and close cropped goatee.

Everyone was so shocked that they did nothing until the man groaned out something about "The dirt tastes nice" at which point Stoick and Gobber picked up the man and they all ran to Gothi, the village healer, before this man…whoever he is, dies from his injuries.

_Gothi's Shack_… "Oh, what happened?" groaned the strange man three days later and everyone jumped up, startled, as he regained consciousness. Stoick readied his sword and everyone drew back in apprehension as the man sat up and said "Oh…Force, what did I do last night…" and his eyes sprang open and he said loudly "Where am I?!" and looked around slowly, at which point everyone was equally apprehensive, though Hiccup had the first word.

"You…your on Berk." He said "Who are you? And where did you come from?"

The man stared at Hiccup, gauging him with such intensity that Hiccup felt as though his soul was being bored through. Then at an angry growl from Stoick the man averted his gaze. The strange man tried to get up but fell down with a gasp of pain, at this point worry overrode caution as Astrid and Hiccup ran over to the man and helped him into a sitting position on the bed at which point the stranger said "My thanks to you" and then said warily "My name is Salak Danliev, and I am a Jedi" at no response but confused stares the man thought to himself "_These can't be Imperials, or I would riddled full of blaster bolts by now"_

Then Fishlegs asked "What's a Jedi? And how did you get here?"

The man stared curiously and responded "I was on the run from three Star Destroyers and made a blind jump into hyperspace, my ship was badly damaged and I… I can't remember anything after entering your planets gravity well…wait, you don't know what Jedi are?"

To which Hiccup replies "Wait…planets gravity well? you're not from this planet!? How's that even possible!" now everyone was staring at the man, Salak, with caution and more so, fear.

Salak was thinking "_They mustn't have discovered hyperspace yet, which means that the empire has no sway here, thank the Force!_".

"My ship, uh…a Ghetroc-720 if I remember correctly, allows me to travel through the void beyond the clouds, as for what Jedi are," he straightened up and looked at them with serious aged eyes "For over a thousand generations the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, before the dark times, before the Empire." He almost spat out the last word then asked "Where is my Lightsaber?"

Now everyone was staring at him, they would have dismissed him as a raving lunatic if he hadn't fallen from the sky. Astrid was now the first to respond "What in Thor's name's a lightsaber? But…oh, your things are over there" she said pointing to a pile on a nearby table.

Salak was pleased to see his lightsaber again and reached out his palm towards it, everyone gasped when the small tarnished metal cylinder rose through the air and flew to the man.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!" bellowed Stoick pushing Hiccup and the other teens behind him and pointing his sword at Salak who simply said "Not sorcery, The Force" and then clipped the small tube to his belt "Wait…you probably don't know what the force is…right?"

Then Fishlegs stammered "W-what…what is the force?"

Salak then said "In laymen's terms the force is an energy field created by all living things, it surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. Some people, known as Force Sensitives can tap into this energy field and use it to perform extraordinary feats of power, such as levitation, foreseeing the future, and commanding the very forces of nature. It, like all else, is divided into good and evil, though we refer to them as the light side, which I and all who adhere to the Jedi path follow, and the dark side, which _they_ follow…the dark side is an awful place of hatred and fear…"

Salak shuddered "I…I'm sorry, where are my manners, I have yet to thank you for saving my life, and to whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking?" he said with a sudden, respectful tone, bowing as much as his recent injury would allow

"I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third" Hiccup said, voice laced with wariness "This is my father Stoick the Vast, Astrid, Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Gobber" he said pointing to each of them in turn while they all eyed Salak cautiously, who turned to them as a group and bowed again, saying "May I see the remains of my vessel?" before grabbing his outer cloak from the table and putting it on.

_On the way to the wreckage_…Why were you running from this Empire?" asked Stoick tersely.

"I am a wanted man, all Jedi are after The Purge" at that everyone stopped in their tracks and turned toward Salak with shock and fear. Stoick pushed himself in front of Hiccup and said "Why are you wanted! What'd you do!?"

Slightly taken aback Salak said "The government of my people was The Republic, but it fell and as its prime defenders we, the Jedi, were labeled as conspirators and dissidents and have all been hunted down and killed, many by those who we once called friends…" this left everyone in a state of profound shock, what kind of place would turn its back on people like that and kill those who they had once called friends?

"I'm sorry Mr. Danliev" said Hiccup sincerely, to which Salak sadly replied "Please, call me Salak". Even though they had just met this man they all had a strong feeling in their guts that they couldn't place that told them that he could be trusted.


	2. Chapter 2: Stories and Tales

_At The Ship_…No good! No good!" growled Salak as he rummaged through his battered ship's remains, occasionally grunting and tossing something useful into a small pile outside his ship. "Hyperdrive is down, weapons offline, power core damaged! This could take months! If ever!" looking over to the shattered remains of R6, he shouted in frustration and climbed out of the wreckage with grease smeared on his face.

He looked over to the meager pile of supplies that he had scavenged and then to the small group watching him with curiosity and said "Well, fortunately my ship is not beyond repair, but it will take months of work before it is spaceworthy again…if ever." He sighed and continued "Luckily I have enough survival supplies to camp out nearb…"

"Wait!" Hiccup interrupted "You have to stay with us in the village, we can't let you camp out here with all the wild dragons…"

"Wait" this time Salak interrupting "Dragons?" he said curiously, at which point Hiccup motioned to the trees and Toothless, Barf and Belch, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Hookfang crept out cautiously. Somewhat to his credit Salak merely jumped and clutched his chest, more than a little shocked.

"Are you okay?" asked a worried Astrid

"Yeah, just a little shocked…where I come from dragons are nothing but myth, but I really should have seen enough in my time not to be too surprised." He ended with a small chuckle and then slowly walked up to Toothless with palms out. Toothless shrinking back and everyone, especially Hiccup, tensing.

Then Salak let calming waves of the Force emanate from him, everyone felt it and he placed his hand on Toothless snout, Toothless then releasing a small coo. At that everyone released the breath they didn't realize they were holding, and Salak and Hiccup got grins on their faces, "Amazing" said Salak "Master Dralling will never…" he ended suddenly and grief flooded from him as his shoulders slumped as everyone drew back from the intense feelings of sadness radiating off the Jedi.

"Who's Master Dralling?" asked Gobber shaking off the intense emotional wave.

Salak breathed deeply and said slowly "He was my master, Cin Dralling, my teacher and closest friend…he was killed along with everyone else I've ever known during The Purge, all the Jedi were killed…I am the only survivor, the last of my kind…"he simply trailed off staring at the ground.

Everyone was basically in shock, asking themselves what it would be like to lose everyone and everything you knew, and to be truly alone? "I…I'm so sorry" stuttered Hiccup, who had known plenty of loss in his life and could relate.

"It's alright, I was chosen from among those at the temple to flee with knowledge of the order, so that one day I may rebuild it…but still, every Jedi I knew, Zara, Yoda, Jocasta, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Mace, Mundi, Liressia, Sarata. All of them…dead…I saw many of them cut down myself, by those soldiers we had once commanded, and trusted, they betrayed us, and we've paid the ultimate price…not even the younglings, the children survived"

At that he was interrupted by eight gasps and a few choked sobs, which prompted him to turn his head and look at the Viking's whose faces showed nothing but horror and grief for this man who had lost everything.

"How could they kill children?" asked Snotlout in disbelief, "They were ordered too, they didn't even think about it, they just did it." Salak simply answered "I'm so sorry for you Mr. Danliev" Astrid said sniffling and imagining how it would feel if everyone on Berk was killed and she was left all alone.

Salak guessed what she was feeling and said guiltily "I'm sorry I forced this upon you…I shouldn't have made you feel…"

At that Stoick raised his hand and said "No, you have every right to grieve, and you can stay with us on Berk for as long as you require, for you have suffered enough."

"Thank you" Salak said quietly with a smile and then added "But it is not like they are gone for good, for they are in here" he pointed to his heart "And as the Jedi code says 'There is no death, there is only the Force'." He added with a slightly bigger smile and walked over to Astrid who was still sniffling a little and knelt down to her level saying "Do not let my past cloud your future, use it as a lesson to treasure each moment and rejoice in those around you." With that Astrid sniffled again, smiled, and ran over and hugged a semi-shocked Hiccup who returned the hug as his shocked expression melted to contentment. Then with everyone smiling Salak gathered his supplies in a pack and they made their way to the village.

_At the Village_…Everyone" Stoick yelled, "This man has come from the skies above and beyond, and he will be stayin' with us for some time" and was interrupted by many gasps and some fierce muttering before continuing with "He has suffered greatly, he has lost his entire…uh, tribe! We will do everything to make him feel at home while he is with us!" with the end of Stoick's brief speech people began to nod.

Stoick turned to a heavily laden Salak who said "My thanks again, I have nothing to give you and you still welcome me with open arms, and for that, again, I thank you" and Salak bowed with respect.

Then Stoick replied "I cannot imagine the pain you must have gone and are going through and you can stay with Hiccup and myself for as long as need be".

Stoick motioned for Hiccup to come over, and for the first time Salak noticed that Hiccup had a prosthetic leg, "Hiccup, please help Salak get settled in at our house"

"Sure dad!" Hiccup said as he motioned for the other teens to come over and asked Stoick "Can my friends help?" to which Stoick laughed heartily and said "Sure" and with that walked off to finish more of his Chiefly duties.

Salak looked at the teens and smiled before saying "Lead the way". On the way across the village Salak's curiosity got the best of him and he asked "Hiccup…how did you get that" pointing to his prosthesis. At that everyone stopped and looked down sadly and Salak knew he had hit on a touchy subject, then they related the tale of how Hiccup had shot down Toothless weeks ago, been shunned and mocked by everyone, befriended the dragon that he shot down, been disowned by Stoick, and killed the Red Death whilst losing a leg.

Then at the tales conclusion Salak said "You have known much hardship in your life my young friend, but you seem to have weathered your battles exceptionally well.

Then said "Well, that was truly an tale for the ages, but it is getting late and even though I'm a Jedi I still need food" at that everyone laughed and they led him to Hiccup's house where he deposited his things in a spare bedroom, and then followed them to the great hall for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3: Lightsabers

_At the Great Hall_…So Salak?" asked Hiccup who, along with the rest of the teens, Gobber, Salak, and Stoick were sitting together "I'm kinda wondering what exactly did you do in this Republic, and you mentioned 'The Purge', what exactly was that?"

At that Stoick fixed a stare on Hiccup and hissed "Hiccup! Don't bring something like that up!" At which point Hiccup looked down embarrassed and ashamed.

But Salak said through a mouthful of bread "No, it's fine. As a Jedi I was a peacekeeper, a mediator, and in my case, a warrior, I led an army of clones" and looking at their confused expressions began to explain to the group of what a clone was, which admittedly was a rather hard concept for them to grasp, but once they had a fair handle on it he continued "We were fighting the Separatists, normally I'd let them 'live and let live', but they were under the control of a Sith Lord. An ancient enemy of the Jedi a user of the Dark Side of the Force, and we all knew that they had to be stopped."

Salak continued "As for the purge" he sighed audibly "near the end of the war our supreme leader, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic betrayed us. It turns out he was the Sith lord who started the entire war so that he could come to power. He issued an order which made all of our troopers execute their Jedi commanders and turned the proud Republic into a cruel Empire…does that answer your question?"

As everyone took this in Astrid asked "So, this 'Supreme Chancellor' he's the bad guy?"

At this Salak grimaced and said "The worst. Chancellor Palpatine" he spat the name "Was once a senator from the peaceful world of Naboo, but was secretly a Sith lord, Darth Sidious, and he started a war in which untold billions upon billions died, including every other Jedi to my knowledge just so that he could have power. He is a monster of the very highest order."

This shocked everyone, they had never been able to conceive of someone who would kill so many just for power, it was almost unthinkable to them. "Who would kill so many for power?" asked Gobber, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"A Sith" Salak replied "They are practically Evil in mortal form… But off this dreary subject, do you have any other questions?"

At this point Ruffnut asked "Yeah, what's a lightsaber? We heard you ask about yours earlier…what exactly is it, I mean it looks like a fancy club."

At that Salak chuckled and said while unclipping it so everyone could see and examine it "It is the ancient weapon of a Jedi, we build them ourselves during our training. It could be compared to a sword, but one with a blade made of pure energy contained in the hilt…I don't want to alarm everyone else so let's go outside and I'll demonstrate."

With that he got up and everyone followed him outside to where the dragons were sitting near the village center. "This is a lightsaber" Salak said unclipping his weapon and igniting it with a snap hiss, at which point everyone could see the brilliant yellow blade that now surged forth from the cylindrical hilt he was holding.

"Awesome!" shouted Ruff

"Yeah, really cool!" said Tuff

Then Hiccup asked "What can it do?" reaching forward to touch the blade.

But Salak pulled the lightsaber back saying "Don't touch the blade, it is hotter than the sun and will cut through anything, metal, rock, and, yes, even flesh." At which point Hiccup jerked back his hand and looked at the handcrafted weapon with a certain amount of reverence. "Here let me show you" Salak said before walking to a nearby boulder and cleaving a deep channel into it, astounding all those present.

"Wow" was all Gobber could say, never having seen anything like it in his life, "How do you learn to fight with it?" asked Astrid, ever the weapons enthusiast.

To which Salak replied "We are trained from infancy in the ways of the Force, and we spend years perfecting our lightsaber combat skills, I happen to be of the Sentinel class of Jedi, and am also a battlemaster, and was thus the prime choice to rebuild the order, since I know almost all there is to know about lightsaber combat."

"Could you teach us?!" asked Snotlout eagerly.

"No…wait" He reached out a hand toward the group who was now wearing puzzled expressions "Interesting… you see only those who are Force sensitive can be trained with the lightsaber. It appears that you younglings may be, um…Jedi material."

With that everyone stared at Salak like he had just grown a second head and Fishlegs asked quizzically "What do you mean, exactly?"

Salak replied "I mean that with proper training, which I can provide, I could instruct you in the ways of the Force and teach you to be Jedi, with your help we can rebuild the order"

"So you mean that we could be Jedi, and use lightsabers!" asked Astrid with equal amounts of awe and enthusiasm.

"Yes" Salak said "if your chief and parents allow me to instruct you, I mean…in the traditional order you would have all been considered far too old for training, but I never put much faith in those old practices, I only follow the code."

At that everyone looked at Stoick for his approval "Well…I don't know…" said Stoick

To which Hiccup almost pleaded "Please dad! I want to do this! And if we can help Salak regain some of what he has lost then shouldn't we at least try?!" that pushed Stoick over the edge and he said "Well…I suppose that it could be no more dangerous than dragon training, so as long as you will all be safe…then you have my blessing"

At which point Hiccup and all the other teens ran up and hugged a shocked Stoick and then looked to Salak and said "When do we start Salak?"

Salak replied "Firstly, in my order it is customary to call your teacher 'Master' and for him to call his students 'Padawans' and secondly" he said with a smile "We start first thing in the morning, I will need a place to train you…"

Gobber then interrupted with "You can use the old Dragon Ring for your training."

Salak then replied "It's settled then, tomorrow morning we get some things from my ship and you will all lead me to this ring afterwards so I can begin your training!" then the teens all shouted "YES!" and then they all ran to their houses to tell their parents and try to get tomorrow to come as fast as physically possible.


	4. Chapter 4: The Way of the Jedi

_The Next morning_… All the teens were gathered at the Haddock household and were waiting for Hiccup and Salak to emerge. "I can't believe that last week it was dragon training, and-and this week it's Jedi training!" stammered Fishlegs, excited, Astrid was about to reply when the door creaked opened and Hiccup and Toothless emerged with Salak in tow wearing his customary brown outer robe.

"Bright and early young padawans! First we must go to my ship where I have some training devices that I was able to grab from the temple as I fled, and then we will go to this dragon ring and start the training." At that everyone followed Salak to the remains of his ship and he emerged holding three heavy durasteel crates with the force, Snotlout and Hiccup lugged one while Tuff and Fishlegs struggled with another and Salak carried the third.

_At the Dragon Ring_…First, let's see what I've got here." Said Salak opening his crate, to reveal a dozen small Jedi tunics and six outer robes, "Ah, some Jedi attire" Salak said handing each teen a set of Jedi clothing and a robe, and whilst they were off putting the new clothing on he opened the remaining crates to reveal; the holocron of Satele Shan, a small case containing a tome called _The Jedi Path_, eight of the Jedi temples emergency-backup lightsabers, and a handful of blaster pistols were in the final case along with power packs and other miscellaneous items.

When they all got back they observed each other in the new uniforms and the twins said "We look more identical than normal!"

While Astrid said "I like these, they're comfortable" while looking Hiccup up and down in his new attire and them both blushing.

"I have good news" Salak said interrupting the conversation and Ruff and Tuffs newest brawl. "I have found several items that will be very helpful in our training."

"Firstly" said Salak "This is a Holocron, or a repository of Jedi knowledge" he said showing the small crystal cube to the group "This particular holocron belonged to a former Jedi Grandmaster, Grandmaster Satele Shan. I also found a copy of _The Jedi Path_, which is a basic manual for all Jedi, this particular copy was given to me when I was a padawan, and finally I have eight basic lightsabers. Normally I would have you start out with training lightsabers, but since I have none, and if you promise to be careful and only practice with padded sticks at the beginning you can each choose one." This excited the teens to no end, they were about to get a lightsaber!

"You must not choose based on which looks the best but which _feels_ right to you." Salak said emphasizing the word 'feels' before placing the lightsabers out on a roll of cloth on top of one of the crates as they all stepped forward "Hiccup, the force feels strongest around you so you choose first…reach out with your senses and let the force flow through you to make your decision."

Hiccup then closed his eyes as his hand drifted over the saber hilts until he selected a plain steel casing whose only distinguishing mark was a rather ornate, pointed emitter; then before he activated it Salak said "No, wait until you have all chosen before you see the color of your blade, it will tell you something about yourself."

Astrid chose next, finding a saber with a spiraling, fluted hilt. Snotlout chose a sturdy robust model, Fishlegs and elegant wide-emitter version, and the twins finding matching sabers with pointed pommels.

"Very good" Salak said "now on the count of three ignite your sabers. One. Two. Three!" all the teens ignited their sabers at once and Hiccup and Fishlegs found themselves with green sabers, Astrid with a purple blade, Snotlout's was blue, and the twins were both yellow. They all stared in awe at the humming blades and waved them experimentally, hearing them hum differently as they moved through the air.

"Now, most Jedi choose the color of their blade based upon their field. But most often green blades belong to Consulars or negotiators, whilst blue and purple belong to Guardians or fighters, and yellow blades belong to Sentinels, like myself, who are a mix of the two. From what I have observed I say that you have all made wise decisions. Now you may deactivate your sabers and clip them on your belts and we will start examining the book that I have." Pulling out a battered old book with faded silver lettering spelling out 'The Jedi Path' above a symbol that looked like a circular starburst.

But before he could even open the book Stoick ran into the training ring and yelled "Outcasts are attacking!..."and stopped short at the sight of the teens all in new robes and clutching lit lightsabers, then shaking himself out of his shock and saying "Salak you said you were a warrior, can you fight?" to which Salak replied "I will take them, myself." walking out of the arena with everyone following him.

_At the edge of the village_…Everyone lined the cliff's willing to fight for their homes, well that was their original intent, now the entire village, including the teens, Stoick, and Gobber watched like paying spectators as Salak walked slowly down the docks toward the outcasts disembarking their ship, Snotlout squealing "Oh, this is going to be good!".

Watching as Salak yelled "Leave now in peace and never return or I will defend these people!" which shocked most as they were used to simply fighting and not treating with their enemies, but the outcasts simply laughed and drew their weapons.

Salak counted off ten outcasts and shrugged off his brown outer robe and assuming a fighting stance, with the outcasts almost rolling around laughing, who was this unarmored fool with a fancy club?

At least until he threw one into the hull of their ship with enough force to send cracks across the hull, then their leader yelled "Oi! Get im'!" and Salak casually defeated them one by one, never drawing a weapon or doing damage that could not be healed.

With the final Outcast dropped, Salak picked them up or dragged them onto their ship then pushed it away from its moorings. Then giving it a mighty Force shove and sending it deeper into the bay, headed out to sea.

Once Salak reached the rest of the village he simply bowed and said "I believe that I have solved your current problem". Everyone was staring, open mouthed, at this man who had single-handedly taken on ten outcasts and not even broken a sweat, or drawn a weapon.

Then Sven began to clap and soon the entire village was giving Salak a rousing round of applause, he simply raised a hand and said "I simply did what I was trained to do, protect the innocent and save lives, now if I may I believe that my young Padawans and I have some training to do" motioning to his students. All ran to him as he began to walk back towards the Dragon Ring.

_On the way back to the Dragon Ring…_"Why didn't you use your lightsaber?" asked Snotlout, curious about why the superior-to-all weapon wasn't used.

"It is not the way of The Jedi" Salak began "To cause unnecessary death and destruction. Violence is always a last resort."


	5. Chapter 5: Training, I have for you

_Back at the Dragon Ring…_ I was originally going to have you all read part of my Jedi manual. But with all that action, book learning seems to be a little bit of a dissapointment" Salak said "So instead we will practice using the Force to manipulate matter, first we all must pick a target, something small, like those boulders" pointing to the Gronkle food storage near Meatlug's old pen and saying "Watch me and attempt to do the same."

He then reached out his hand and made the top rock of the pile rise up and then settle back down, but now about ten feet away. "You may not all succeed at first, but even a small wiggle will be a sign of success."

Then Hiccup asked "What exactly do we do though, I mean how does it work?"

Salak simply nodded thoughtfully and said "You must feel the Force…no, no, not speaking to younglings…try to concentrate on the energy in and around all living things and stretch out your senses, imagine the rock moving and try as hard as you can to make what you see in your mind become reality, focus."

They tried for a minute, but no matter how much they strained nothing happened.

"Alright" Salak said, breaking their concentration "Let's try some smaller rocks, those are obviously too big for a first attempt, my mistake not yours."

Salak walked over and dug through the pile until he had come up with six slightly-larger-than-fist-sized stones, he placed them in a row and designated one person per stone. Then, at Salak's command, they tried again.

For a moment nothing much happened, but then, starting with Hiccup's stone. Each rock began to rise, they only levitated a few centimeters and the effort looked exhausting. So Salak clapped and they released a pent-up breath as the stones clattered back to the ground.

They all looked to Salak with expressions of pride that was matched only by the proud look on his face, and he said "Well done! I thought it would take some more time, but the Force seems exceptionally strong with you, you are making fine progress."

"So awesome!" Snotlout said, referring to his newfound powers "Can't wait to use these during Thawfest!"

Salak looked quizzically at them, not understanding the point of reference, so Hiccup said "It's a yearly competition"

"Ah, no" said Salak "The Force is to be used for knowledge and defense, never attack, perhaps it would be best to now teach you the Jedi code. Everyone sit in a circle."

A little confused they all sat down, Salak sitting cross-legged at the head of the circle.

"Over the many thousands of years of our existence the Jedi developed a mantra of sorts, a code that we live by, it is time I passed it onto you." Said Salak and he began

_"__There is no Emotion, there is Peace"_

_"__There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge"_

_"__There is no Passion, there is Serenity"_

_"__There is no Chaos, there is Harmony"_

_"__There is no Death, there is the Force"_

A few moments of digesting and mentally analyzing what was said occurred. Ruff and Tuff seemed to have zoned out, while Snotlout was struggling to understand what, if any, implications this would have for his life. The other three however, actually tried to _understand_ what was said and Hiccup came to a seemingly obvious flaw in the code.

"Master Salak" asked Hiccup

"Yes" Salak replied

"That part about death, it seems…wrong. We all go to Valhalla after death, right?" said Hiccup, asking his question.

Salak stroked his beard, though he didn't know what this "Valhalla" was he could reasonably extrapolate from the context that it was an afterlife of sorts.

"The ancient wisdom of the Jedi teaches us that when we die we return to the Living Force, and our spirits reside within forever, though some powerful Jedi of legend, such as the Jedi, turned Sith, turned Jedi, Revan could show themselves in the mortal world through the Force. So if you see it from a broad perspective, the two views are not entirely irreconcilable." Said Salak

Salak decided to have them recite the Code several more times, at least until they seemed to get its tenets.

Salak next decided to ask his Padawans what they wanted to work on, their answer was predictable… Lightsabers, of course.

"Very well" said Salak, "Do you have any training swords?" he asked

"Why?" asked Snotlout, eager to test his lightsaber

"Because the probability is very high that at least until I teach you the basics without an ignited blade you would return home without a head." Salak said

Snotlout turned white and scampered off to grab a training sword for each of them, and one for Salak.

Snotlout returned and handed out the training swords, which were actually wooden poles covered in cotton batting, an excellent tool for sword and lightsaber training alike.

"Now there are seven forms of lightsaber combat" said Salak, "I specialize in Form IV, Ataru. But first we will start with Form I Shii-Cho, also called The Way of the Sarlacc and known as the Determination form. Its use stemmed from when Jedi went from metal sabers to lightsabers, and is the first form that all Jedi learn."

"I want you all to attack me with your poles and we will see where we go from there."

"Wait! You want us to attack you?" asked Ruff, with no small amount of surprise

"Yes" said Salak "That way I can see what we have to work on, and where each of your strengths lie."

They all nodded and leapt to attack Salak, who within a minute had disarmed each of them. They however were lying on the ground groaning and he had nary a scratch.

"Well" said Salak walking around and pulling them to their feet "I think that against a fully trained Jedi Master, you all fared rather well"

They all stared incredulously at the man who had just soundly beaten them as Salak continued "If I may I will suggest what Lightsaber forms would be suitable for each of you to practice."

"Hiccup and Fishlegs, I believe that you should take up Form VI, or Niman, also called the Way of the Rancor, it is the form of the diplomat, and will suit two scholarly young men well. For I do not believe that you will make a career out of combat alone, and it is said that while you would not be able to defeat a master of practically any other form. Mastering Niman will allow for other studies outside of the combat arena, something I believe that you two will excel at." Salak explained

"Astrid and Snotlout" Salak said turning to them "I suggest form IV Shien, it is a form based on raw strength and physical power, it seems form the choice of weapon I saw you carrying, Astrid, that it would befit your style and Snotlout's physique." Their faces lit up as Salak said this and he continued "You will make two fine Guardians one day."

Salak last turned to the Twins "And finally, Ruff and Tuff, I believe that you should both train in Ataru, my form of choice. And one which is composed of leaps and bounds that will confuse and befuddle your opponent while giving you unmatched maneuverability. It is a fitting form for two sentinels-in-training."

They all looked quite happy with what Salak said and before the sun fell they had a grasp of the basic body zones, areas of attack, and had a fair handle on Shii-cho.

"Very good" Salak said "However it is getting late and I think that we should all adjourn to the Great hall and call it a day" they all looked a little dismayed but followed their masters suggestion and went to the Great hall.

_At the Great hall… _Salak was the guest of honor tonight, seeing as how he defeated the outcasts single-handedly, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, while the Padawans gave an account of their day to Stoick and Gobber. With many a question from the latter the latter pair through the telling.

At the end of the recounting Stoick said to Salak "Well, I hope that all our young ones here will soon be able to defend Berk like you were able to today."

To which Salak replied "With training, they can do more than that, for they are some of the most talented that I have seen in some time, they have quite a future in the Jedi arts."

All the teens smiled at the kind words from their master and went over to tell their parents about the day's events before turning in for the night.


	6. Resumption Announcement!

**Alright, big announcement time…and confession time. The second version of this story will be terminated and those chapters will be transferred here, where the story will continue from there. Too confusing for me, and I know I have promised chapters by certain dates before and never made it, but this time is different as I have the chapter 85% written, and I am giving myself four extra days. So by Wednesday, July 20****th****, 2016, there will be a completely new chapter of "Of Dragons and Jedi"! The reason my chapters are so erratic is because if I force myself to write it comes out as crap, so I have to wait for the right time. And did you see the new rebels trailer OMG!**


	7. Chapter 6: From Gears to Droids

**Yay! New Chapter! This is where the chapters start to diverge from the older version, and YES I'm ahead of schedule!**

The next day began with the teens converging on the Dragon arena and Astrid saying "Where's Master Salak?".

"Yeah" replies Hiccup "He…wait, there he is!" pointing to the entrance to the arena.

There Salak was carrying a new crate while saying "Today we start work on deflecting the preeminent Galactic weapon."

"Which is?" asked Hiccup

"Blaster's happen to be the galaxy's most prevalent weapons, think rapid fire crossbows that shoots miniature lightsaber beams" responded Salak

"I have a training droid that shoots stun blasts, and we will be using our lightsabers today." At those words they were all excited, they were going to use their sabers finally! Though Hiccup was wondering what in Thor's name a droid was!

Salak opened the crate and pulled out something that was shaped like a white ball with many holes along the sides.

The thing floated in mid-air, though Salak didn't seem to be paying much attention to it.

"Um, Salak?" said Hiccup

"Yes?" answered Salak

"Are you making that thing float?" asked Hiccup

"No" said Salak as though it were obvious

"Then…then, how is it floating!" stammered Fishlegs

"Repulsorli-, oh… right…" said Salak beginning to rub his forehead

"Um, well… for tens of thousands of years people in the greater galaxy have built machines like this one… you do know what a machine is, right?" Salak tried to explain

"You mean like gears and such?" said Hiccup

"Oh, this will be a long morning…" said Salak, not having entirely realized how far behind the Galactic bell-curve these people were.

"Alright, I need something from my ship… on second thought" Salak said "It would be better for all of you to come instead of me bringing what I need here."

Salak replaced the device in the crate and placed it off to the side.

They all filed out of the ring and through the woods to Salak's ship.

After climbing through the hole that Toothless had oh so generously made, Toothless had a hard squeeze through the gap, but made it. Salak looked at the dark and pulled out something that looked like a lightsaber hilt, but then as a thought struck him he turned to the Dragon Riders.

"This is a glowrod" Salak said, and before Hiccup or the others had a chance to ask its function he said "It is basically like a lantern, it glows and shines a beam of regular light up to eighty meters, and it can last for oh, thirty-five hours before you need to swap energy cells."

He flicked it on and the riders were surprised at how much light the small device threw, really beats a lantern.

Salak illuminated the confines of the ship and led them through the lopsided passages until they arrives at a larger open space, the cargo hold.

Salak walked over to a console and, holding the glowrod above it, began to fiddle with the wires, a few moments passed and he walked over to grab a large lantern-looking object that lay on its side on the floor, he plugged some wires into the power socket of the fusion lantern and then tapped several keys on the console and suddenly the lights in the cargo hold sprang to life.

The Dragon Riders flinched and shielded their eyes as the lights sprang to life, Salak turned and said "Alright, this is the cargo hold, where all my supplies are kept. You are here so I can teach you about basic technology."

Over the next several hours Salak taught the basics of what wires were, what they did, and slowly progressed till he was ready to explain droids.

"Alright" Salak said, clapping his hands "put down the holoprojector Fishlegs, time to learn the last lesson for the day."

"Droids…" Salak simply said

"You mentioned them before, what are they?" asked Astrid

"Droids are best expressed as machines that act like and behave like people, kind of like an artificial person. Whether they are actually legally people was still in the air before the Clone Wars…"

"Wait" said Hiccup "You mean your people can not only make copies of people, but can make metal people that can think as well!?"

"In a word, yes" said Salak, Hiccup was floored

"Note that that floating thing I showed you earlier was a simple droid, meant only to attack people for sparring purposes, it can't kill. We will be using it tomorrow, but I just wanted you to begin to understand what we will be using so you are more informed." Said Salak

"Now" said Salak "Grab that crate, and that one, and follow me" Salak grabbed a third crate, and they all carted them to the center of the village.

Once they reached the center of the village a crowd gathered and soon Stoick's voice could be heard "Salak, what's going on?" referring to the three crates and the fact that Salak was piling up the items inside seemingly intent on handing them out.

"Ah, Stoick! I spent the day teaching the young Padawans about these devices and discovered while doing so that I had more than I thought, so I decided to give them to the village as a sign of friendship." Said Salak, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Oh, well" said Stoick, rather surprised "That is mighty kind of you."

"Gather 'round!" Shouted Salak as he began to demonstrate the effects of his Glowrods, and Fusion Lanterns to the villagers. Many were surprised and rather delighted at heving new ways to heat their homes, and find their way in the dark now.

Salak however did give them warnings about potential misuse, and that if they stopped working to get him, not try and fix it themselves. Especially after Spitelout almost burned out his corneas shining a glow rod in his eyes.

Salak also warned about flammable materials and Fusion Lanterns, not wanting the village to go up in smoke because of him.

Soon the villagers had, with Salak's help, peacefully divided up the lot and carted the items off with many thanks to Salak, the Padawans departing with their families for the night, until only Hiccup, Stoick, and Toothless remained.

"Well Salak, that was mighty thoughtful of ya." Stoick said, appreciating his new devices, Salak bowed.

"Stoick, I actually also wanted to ask that you and Gobber meet us all for training tomorrow as I had some other devices to give out to just you and the Padawans." Said Salak

"Alright, what time?" said Stoick

"Earliest you can after the young ones show up." Replied Salak

What might Salak have in store for our village next?


	8. Chapter 7: Speeders and Captors

**As you can see I'm really making the outcasts a lot darker in this story, I'm still going to have some recognizable parts like a Race to the Edge and HTTYD 2, but all with my own unique style.**

**To P: Yes more Jedi, no Luke Skywalker. And No one knows that Anakin became Darth Vader, so Salak thinks he died as Anakin.**

Salak had practically just laid down to sleep when the Force sent warnings through his mind. His eyes snapped open and he threw off his blanket, quickly putting on his robe and utility belt, and grabbing his lightsaber.

He reached the front door of the Chief's house, where he was staying, and pulled a glowrod out of his belt before throwing the door open. He ran outside and began to sweep the glowrod's beam in arcs, swishing around until he saw the party of armed men sneaking past the village perimeter.

Salak grabbed a flash-bang grenade from his belt and used the Force to propel it into the air, when it was at a hundred feet it blew.

The entire village it seems had heard the massive crack or seen the bright light and knew something was wrong, people came pouring out of their houses, including each of his padawans, and all very well armed. Though his padawans had grabbed the weapons they knew how to use better instead of their lightsabers.

The men that had been sneaking into the village, seemingly a fifty or sixty strong raiding party of outcasts, charged the village with a loud roar. Tossing flaming brands into the houses, soon setting the village alight.

Dispensing his need of the glowrod and returning it to his belt Salak pulled out his lightsaber and activated it with the trademark snap hiss.

He leapt over the front rank of Berkians and began to slash in seemingly wild arcs, each doing damage… but not damage that could not be undone, he took out one man's weapons, cut off another's hand, slashed the thigh of a third and so on…

The fight was long and brutal, but after half an hour the Outcasts were retreating to their ship and the Berkians were putting out the last of the fires, no one had been slain on either side and the Outcasts had been able to cart away their wounded.

Stoick approached Salak as the teens and Gobber coalesced around him.

"Salak!" said Snotlout, forgetting in his awe, to call Salak 'Master' "That was awesome!"

Astrid too nodded in awed approval of his battle techniques

Stoick reached them, and pointing his glowrod at Salak said "Salak, you did amazing. I still can't believe how many you took down."

Salak smiled and looked around at his new friends, his smile slowly fading as he noticed someone wasn't there.

"Where's Hiccup?"

_At the Shore of Outcast Island_… Alvin the treacherous considered the cost of his raid, thirty men wounded, five maimed, and two unconscious. But… In return he had his prize.

Alvin grabbed a squirming, moaning sack tied up with ropes, leaving a metal leg lying in his longship.

_Back on Berk…_ "HICCUP!" Shouted Salak as he and the others checked the entire island for him, Toothless franticly leading them by nose until he reached the shore, then looked out on the sea and whined sadly.

"Alvin has my son!" shouted Stoick

"So this 'Alvin' is the leader of those raiders?" asked Salak

"Yes, Alvin the Treacherous, Chief of the Outcasts." Said Stoick, still looking at the sea, in the direction of Outcast Island.

Fishlegs was muttering, more hyperventilating really, "Oh Thor, oh Thor, oh Thor".

Snotlout looked ready to rip the head off anyone who dared kidnap his cousin.

Astrid had let out a scream and embedded her axe in a tree stump.

The twins looked in the mood for some violence.

And Gobber looked ready to make these Outcasts taste his hook.

Salak however was calm and said "We should organize a rescue party once dawn comes, until then we should prepare to leave first thing in the morning."

Everyone looked at him and nodded he then said "Stoick. You, Gobber, and Toothless will take a longship. My padawans will take their Dragons, I'll go with them on a Speeder Bike that I have in my hold."

Stoick looked reluctant to taking the long way, but as he had no dragon to ride he had no choice. The others simply looked at Salak and nodded, he nodded back and disappeared into the woods in the direction of his ship.

_Morning…_ Astrid was just finishing getting her saddle on Stormfly while the others prepped their Dragons and Gobber, Stoick, and Toothless set out in the longship.

"Where's Salak?" asked Astrid impatiently

"I'm here!" yelled Salak coming over to them pushing the most peculiar object, it had a saddle and long poles that came out of its front attached to sheets of metal, a sleek body, and it floated.

Salak hopped in the saddle and the thing bobbed up and down then just floated.

"Are we all ready?" asked Salak

Everyone, who would normally be asking about the strange device, nodded grimly.

Salak motioned for them to take off and he rode off the cliff and soon was speeding under them as fast as any dragon, never touching the water beneath them.

They would get Hiccup back, one way or another…

_Outcast Island_… Hiccup was curled up in a cold dark cave-like cell, he was wet, cold, prosthetic-less, and tired.

Suddenly the door swung open, a man he recognized as Alvin's lieutenant, Savage, walked in, undid his chains and quickly bound his wrists behind his back before pushing him out of the cell and making him walk on his knees toward Alvin's throne room.

Alvin was bored… He had sent for the runt almost an hour ago, remind him to beat Savage for his incompetence.

Finally the throne room door opened and Hiccup was thrown unceremoniously to Alvin's feet. He looked up, somewhat bruised and battered, his face full of defiance.

Alvin looked down at Hiccup with a wicked grin and said "I here Stoick's runt of a son finally managed to do somthin' useful!" he chuckled at his own joke and said "Now, yer gonna teach me how to ride Dragons, or I might just send home enough of you to burn."

Hiccup got to his knees and spat on Alvin's boots, then saying "Never, I'll never betray my people, do what you want to me, but you'll never learn to train Dragons!"

Alvin reached down and slapped Hiccup across the face, then said "So be it. Guards!"

Two burly outcasts came in "Bring the runt back to his cell, we'll execute him in a few hours"

Those words made Hiccup go white, only a few hours left to live?

The Outcasts nodded and dragged Hiccup back to his cell

Let's hope a rescue comes in time…


	9. Chapter 8: Consequential Rescue

**I interrupt your normal programming to bring you this commercial message… Two chapters within two weeks, astounding… for me. This chapter was inspired by the story ****_Consequences_****by Catarath. I will try to update Rebels of the Ring by Friday, please leave all comments for that story there. Thank you!**

Salak and the Riders made good time, within an hour they reached the outcast shores.

Salak zoomed behind a large rock jutting out of the ground, the riders landed next to him.

"Salak ,what now?" asked Astrid in a whisper, so not to be overheard.

"Now we scout" said Salak, drawing his Jedi hood over his head and looking over the rock, he saw an outcast walking obliviously along the beach.

When the outcast passed by the rock Salak used his Force-enhanced strength to pull him behind the rock.

The outcast turned to face his captors, only for Astrid to place her axe millimeters from his neck.

"Where's Hiccup?!' she growled

The outcast spat at her, she pulled the axe back, ready to strike. But Salak grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

The Outcast looked defiantly at Salak, Salak simply waved his hand in front of the Outcast's face and said "You will tell us where Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is"

The Outcast repeated in a monotone "I will tell you where Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is"

Astrid's jaw dropped, along with everyone else's, and the Outcast quickly laid out how Hiccup was to be executed in less than half-an-hour, all in the same monotone.

Salak smiled and waved his hand again before the Outcast's face, the man instantly fell asleep.

Salak turned back to his padawans and said "Jedi mind trick, only works on the weak minded. Now we must hurry."

They all took off around the rock, but not before Salak grabbed a long item from his speeder bike.

_In the Dungeon…_ Hiccup was scared, no, terrified. But he wouldn't show fear, not to Alvin, or anyone else. "I'm sorry dad" said Hiccup, this wasn't the end the son of a chief should have, he had failed his father again.

Hiccup heard a clinking of the door opening, and Savage stood there, a wicked smile on his face.

"Time to die, runt." He said

Hiccup stood up and had his hands bound without protest, then bravely walked through the underground Outcast tunnels until he was led into a perverse reflection of Berk's dragon arena.

Squinting in the brighter light of the overcast day, Hiccup was led towards Alvin and a large executioner's block, Alvin with a large battleaxe at the ready. Dozens Outcasts were positioned around the arena, to watch their hated enemy's son die.

Hiccup was before the block, Alvin smiled wickedly and said "Got to hand it to ya boy, better men than you would be wettin themselves by now."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and said with a smirk, "Are you here to kill me, or bore me to death?"

Alvin shouted in rage and kicked the back of Hiccup's legs, causing him to fall onto the block, perfectly positioned for the killing blow.

Hiccup knew that by not showing fear, by giving Alvin the satisfaction of terrifying him, he'd won in the end.

He waited for the axe to come down…

_On an Outcrop Overlooking the Arena…_ Salak and the others were high above the arena, Salak augmenting his sight with the Force, no one had a keener eye.

Salak saw, as did Astrid next to him, Hiccup be led out to the block and a verbal exchange with Alvin, Alvin kicked Hiccup to the execution position and Astrid let out an audible gasp. And as she turned to Salak to tell him to do something she saw he had another strange device in his hands, longer than a crossbow but with a similar shaped stock.

Salak had raised a small tube to his eye and was aiming the device carefully.

A small bead of sweat ran down Salak's brow, so much would depend on this one shot.

He lined up the crosshairs, and fired.

_In the Arena_… Hiccup felt a biting pain along the back of his neck and cried out, was Alvin torturing him? Prolonging his suffering for Alvin's sadistic enjoyment?

Hiccup waited for another blow to finish the job.

It never came.

Hiccup opened his eyes and wrenched himself from the axe imbedded in his shoulder and the block, almost as if it had been dropped. Then looked around and saw a sight for sore eyes indeed.

Salak had Force-leapt into the arena, igniting his lightsaber as he did so, and Alvin was writhing around with a smoking hole in his shoulder, the shoulder for the arm that held the axe.

Salak was destroying weapons and Force-pushing Outcasts into walls left and right, Hiccup also saw the other riders fighting and, right before he passed out, he saw Astrid running towards him wielding her axe.

Astrid ran to Hiccup's side and saw the huge, deep cut on his shoulder. That, and the fact that he had passed out, was worrying her.

She saw that every outcast was either, fighting, retreating, or out of commission, and she picked up Hiccup before performing a Nadder call and Stormfly landing right in front of her. She mounted still carrying Hiccup and took off, she'd find Stoick's longship, still at sea, and they'd all reunite there, as per Salak's plan that he had made on that outcrop.

Salak saw Astrid fly off, then as he finished off the last Outcast the riders called and mounted their Dragons, and he Force-leapt and ran to his bike, which he called with his wrist-link, and took off to regroup with the others.

And check up on his wounded padawan.


	10. Chapter 9: Survivor

Salak zoomed across the water, creating quite a wave in his wake. It was only minutes before he saw a longship to his left, and veered toward it.

As he pulled alongside Gobber leaned over and yelled "Salak! What in Thor's name are ye ridin!"

"Speeder bike" said Salak, standing up on his bike and clambering over the edge of the longship, then using the Force to lift the bike up and into the ship.

Salak turned around and saw everyone else gathered around in a circle at the rear of the ship, sensing unease Salak walked toward them.

"It's a pretty deep cut" said a worried Astrid's voice

"What do we do?" asked Snotlout, his voice filled with more care than Salak knew he possessed.

Salak looked over his padawan's heads, as he was taller, and saw Toothless curled around Stoick who held Hiccup in his arms, staring at the cut that Alvin had inflicted.

"Stoick" said Salak, and Stoick looked up at him "I have a medpac, I should be able to treat the cut."

Stoick looked immensely relieved, he had seen smaller cuts doom many villagers if they became infected, and gladly walked over to Salak, with Toothless trailing, and handed over Hiccup's unconscious form.

Salak walked back to a small pile of sacks and laid Hiccup down ever so gently. Then from a large belt pouch he pulled out a small durasteel case. Opening it the others saw tons of tiny needles, tubes, and bottles.

Salak deftly pulled a vial out and a syringe, he loaded the vial in the apparatus and before anyone knew what was happening, stuck the pointy metal part into Hiccup's shoulder.

"Salak! What are you doing!" shouted Stoick

"Injecting Bacta and Bota; it will help kill any infection and heal the wound faster" said Salak, eyes never leaving Hiccup.

Salak then pulled out a small roll of adhesive medaid bandage and placed it over Hiccup's wound.

Gobber appeared carrying a blanket, which Hiccup's was unceremoniously wrapped in, and then they set course for Berk.

_Two Days Later_… Hiccup had woken up yesterday, and Salak had been checking on him at the Haddock House roughly every eight hours.

Salak strolled down the center of the village toward Stoick and Hiccup's house, he had just almost caused a reactor meltdown in his semi-ruined ship, and needed to take a break.

Just as Salak reached out to knock on the door it swung open and Stoick stood there, looking frantic.

"He's Gone!"

Salak immediately replied "What? Who's gone?"

"Hiccup!" said Stoick, holding Hiccup's prosthetic

"Is Toothless still here?" asked Salak

"No, but Hiccup can't fly him without his leg" said Stoick, calming down now that he realizes that they are probably together.

"I'll go look for them" offered Salak

"Well… alright, I've got a land dispute to resolve on Sven's farm, tell me if there's trouble." Said Stoick

"Aye, aye!" Salak saluted and jogged off

_Half-an-hour later, Raven's Point Cove_… Salak walked through the woods towards where the other villagers said Hiccup and Toothless's special cove was. When he walked down a sloping trail toward what he believed to be the entrance to the cove he knew he found the right place. A shield was wedged in the gap leading into the cove.

As Salak clambered over the shield he heard a faint sniffling, like someone on the verge of tears.

Salak turned around and saw Hiccup sitting next to Toothless in one of the more beautiful coves that he had visited. Hiccup however, looked despondent.

Salak walked toward him and made his presence known "So this is where you met Toothless, right?"

Hiccup looked up, startled, and furiously wiped at his face to hide what Salak had seen

"Almost as tranquil as the Room of a Thousand Fountains back at the Jedi Temple" Salak continued.

Salak sat down on the dirt right next to Hiccup and said "You don't have to hide tears from me, I don't judge"

"I'm sorry…it's so stupid" said Hiccup

"I'd be that your wrong there…if something's bothering you, it might help to get it off your chest." Said Salak

"Well…" Hiccup still looked unsure of himself, and looked at Toothless, who seemed to give him the encouragement he needed to forge ahead.

"You know how I'm the big hero in the village, right?" asked Hiccup

Salak nodded

"Well, it wasn't always like that, heck, it was the practically the opposite until the day you crashed." Said Hiccup

Salak motioned for him to continue

"Everybody always called me 'Hiccup the Useless' and, well, let's say I didn't have much of a childhood… Dad always looked at me with, well, shame… like he got the wrong kid or something. Birthdays and Snoggletogs and, well, I basically lived in the forge, that way people couldn't mock me" Hiccup explained

Salak had an unreadable look and Hiccup said "I know I should just get over it, but, I…I just can't seem to let it go."

"Hiccup" began Salak "You are one of the strongest people I have ever met, even more so now that I know this. Many people, even some Jedi I knew, would let emotional trauma like that define them, it speaks well of your character that you don't let it. You should never think that that was right, or that you're not enough, cause from where I stand, you are one of the best people I've met in a long, long time."

Hiccup was wide-eyed and speechless "You-you really mean that?"

"Every word" said Salak "Come on, it's high time you two got back, and if you ever need to talk to me, feel free to ask."

Salak had Hiccup ride Toothless out of the cove and soon they were back to the house, Salak was able to spare Hiccup Stoic's lecture and explain that he just needed some alone time.

Because on Berk, Hiccup was never the Useless one…


End file.
